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VlS(X)rXT KlKr.TlRO ISHTI. 



THE PRESENTATION 
OF A SAMURAI SWORD 



THE GIFT OF DOCTOR TOICHIRO NAKAHAMA, OF 
TOKIO, JAPAN, TO THE TOWN OF FAIRHAVEN. 
MASSACHUSETTS, BY VISCOUNT KIKUJIRO ISHII, 
JAPANESE AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES. 
JULY THE FOURTH, NINETEEN HUNDRED EIGHTEEN 



PUBLISHED BY 

THE MILLICENT LIBRARY, Fairhaven, Mass. 
1918 



mft 



FOREWORD. 

On the Fourth of July, nineteen hundred and 
eighteen, Viscount Ishii, Japanese Ambassador to the 
United States, presented to the town of Fairhaven, a 
Samurai sword, a precious memento of the fourteenth 
century, the gift of Dr. Toichiro Nakahama of Tokio 
in commemoration of the rescue of his father, Manjiro 
Nakahama, by Captain William H. Whitfield of Fair- 
liaven. 

Not only was the presentation of this sword an 
event of signal honor to Fairhaven, but of interna- 
tional significance as well, for the occasion served as 
a medium for the emphasis of friendly relations be- 
tween the two countries, Japan and the United States. 

To preserve in convenient printed form, a perma- 
nent record of the celebration incident to the presen- 
tation of the sword this pamphlet is issued. It is 
appropriate that The Millicent Library, the custodian 
■of the sword, should undertake its publication. 



THE STORY OF 
MANJIRO NAKAHAMA. 

In the log book of the whaling vessel ''John How- 
land," Captain AVilliam H. Whitfield, master, sailing 
from New Bedford for the Japan Sea in 1839, appear 
the following entries. 

Sunday, June 27, 1841. 
This day light wind from S. E. Isle in sight at 1 P. M. 
Sent in two boats to see if there was any ttirtle, found 5 
poor distressed people on the isle, took them off, could not 
understand anything from them more than that they v/as 
hungry. Made the latitude of the isle 3 deg. 31 m. N. 

Monday, June 2 8. 
This day light winds from S. E. the island in sight. 
To the Westward, stood to the S. W. at 1 P. M. landed and 
l)rought off what few clothes the five men left. 

Such is the simple prosaic record which marks 
the first incident in a romantic story, destined to in- 
fluence international relations between our country 
and Japan on at least two occasions. 

The five men thus rescued were Japanese fisher- 
men, who had been blown out to sea in a storm and 
had found refuge on the rocky "isle" where for 
nearly six months they had led a precarious existence 
subsisting on sea birds and turtle eggs. 

At the end of the whaling season in October, 181:1, 
Captain Whitfield landed four of the Japanese at 
Honolulu, but one, a boy of fourteen or fifteen, who 
had acted as a sort of cabin boy to the captain, had 



8 



PRESENTATION OF SAMURAI SWORD. 



become so much attached to Captain AYhitfielcl that 
he begged to be allowed to complete the voyage and 
come to America. The youth had picked np the Eng- 
lish language and spoke with considerable facility and 
his good nature and willingness to work and to learn 
had endeared him to the Captain and his crew. His 
Japanese name was, however, much too formidable for 
the sailors and Manjiro Nakahama was Anglicized to 
plain John Mung. 

On his arrival home in Fairhaven, Captain Whit- 
field, who was a widower at the time, made arrange- 
ments for the Japanese boy to stay with his relatives 
and attend school. Later when Captain Whitfield 
married a second time and established a home on 
Sconticut Neck, Nakahama became a member of his 
household. It is significant that he was never regarded 
as a servant but rather as a foster son to Captain 
Whitfield who encouraged him to attend the private 
schools of the town and treated him as one of his own 
family. It Avas the custom for Fairhaven boys of that 
time to learn a trade, usually some trade connected 
with the whaling industry and in addition to his school 
work, Nakahama mastered the trade of cooper. Dur- 
ing his residence in Fairhaven, the characteristics 
which impressed themselves on the memories of such 
of his schoolmates as are now living were his industry 
and the ease with which he mastered his studies, espe- 
cially mathematics, his peculiar interest in the study 
of navigation, and an all consuming desire to return to 
Japan to see his mother once more. At that time 
the ports of Japan were closed and the law of the land 
decreed a penalty of death to natives who left the 
islands and returned. 



PRESENTATION OF SAMURAI SWORD. g 

In 1S47 he made a voyage to the Pacific as cooper 
on the XeAv Bedford bark "'Franklin." In 1SJ:9, at- 
tracted by the discovery of gold in California, he tried 
hi.s fortune at the mines with moderate success. During 
these years his mind was constantly set on returning 
to Japan, and after four months in the gold fields he 
went to Honolulu where he found three of his former 
companions of the shipwreck, one having died. They 
w^ere as anxious to return as he and with the friendly 
assistance of the American consul, Mr. Allen, and the 
chaplain of the Seaman's Bethel at Honolulu, the Rev. 
Samuel C. Damon, the party were outfitted with a 
wiiale boat and provisions and a merchant ship sailing 
for China agreed to put them off near the Loo Choo 
islands off Japan. The plan was carried out and for 
ten years the AVhitfield family had no word of the 
Japanese boy. Then in 1860 came a letter describing 
his fortunes in picturesque language, which is repro- 
duced here. 

Sandwich Island, May 2, 1S60. 
Captain William H. Whitfield. 

My Honored friend — I am very happy to say that i had 
an opportunity to say to you a few lines. I am still living 
and hope yon were the same blessing, i wish to meet you 
in this world once more. How happy we would be. Give 
my best respect to Mrs. and Miss Amelia Whitfield, i long 
to see them. Capt. you must not send your boys to the 
whaling business; you must send them to Japan, i will take 
care of him or them if you will. Let me know^ before send 
and I will make the arrangement for it. 

Now I will let you know how am i arrived to my Native 
Country. You know that i have been to the Gold Mine; 
here stayed 4 month, average eight Dolls per day, beside 
expenses, from here i made my mind to get back and to see 
Dear Mother and also Shiped in one of the American 
Merchant men. In this vessel i arrived to Sand which 




CAPT. WILLI A.\l H. WHITFIELD. 



PRESENTATION OF SAMURAI SWORD. ^1 

Island. I found onr friend Mr. Damon and through his 
kindness 1)Oiight a whale boat and put her into a Merchant- 
man. This vessel was going to Shanghai in China. 

It was January very cold that part of country; Time i 
went on shore south off Great Loo Choo it was gail with 
snow. The Capt. of vessel he wish me to stay with him and 
to go to China, but i refused it, because i wanted to see 
Mother. The boat is ready for me to get in, myself, 
Dennovo & Goyesman jump in to the boat, parted with shi]) 
at 4 P. M. After ten hours hard pull we arrived lee of 
Island and anchored uutill morning. i went on shore 
amongst the Loo Choose, but i cannot understand their 
language, i have forgot all Japanese words. I stay here six 
months, under care of the King of Loo Choo, waiting for 
Japanese junk to come. 

In the month of July get on board junk and went 
into the Harbour of Nagashirki Island, off Kie-u-see-u, 
waiting to get permition for 3 month before we get to our 
residence. After all the things is properly regulated we 
were send to our residence. It was great joy to Mother 
and all the relation, i have stay with my Mother only 3 
day and night the Emperor called me to Jedo. Now i 
l^ecame one emperian officer. At this time i am attached 
this vessel. 

This war steamer were send by Emperor of Japan to 
the Compliment of the President of America. We went to 
San Francisco, California, and now homeward bound, at 
Sandwhich to touch Island to secure some coal and pro- 
vition. I wish to send the letter from San Francisco but so 
many Japanese eyes i can't, i wrote this between passage 
from San Francisco to Island. Excuse me many mistakes. 
1 can write better after our arrived Japan Jedo. 

I wish for you to come to Japan, i will now lead my 
Dear Friend to my house, now the port opened to all the 
nations. I found our friend Samuel C. Damon. We was so 
happy each other I cannot write it all. When get home I 
will w^rite better acct, I will send to you sut of my clothe. 
It is not new, but only for remember me. 

I remain your friend, 

John Mungero (May 25 1860.) 



]^9 PRESENTATION OF SAIMURAI SWORD. 

Between the lines of his letter and from the testi- 
mony of his friend, ^Ir. Damon, who had a long talk 
with him at the time of this visit to Honolulu, it is ap- 
parent that the boy John Mung had become a man of 
importanee in his native country. 

During the months of his detention at Nagasaki, 
Nakahama, as a Japanese who had been to America, 
naturally attracted a great deal of attention. He was 
attended by eager crowds anxious to hear of his ad- 
ventures, and he lost no opportunity to recount the 
virtues and the kindness of the Americans. He was 
finally lu'ought before the great Shogun at Tokio where 
he found favor with the emperor and was commissioned 
to teach English and navigation in the naval schools of 
Japan, and also translated Bowditch's ''Navigator" into 
Japanese. The following paragraph from the account 
of Nakaliama prepared l)y the Japanese Embassy testi- 
fies to the part he played when the famous Perry treaty 
between Japan and the United States was negotiated. 

"On that great historic event when the Perry Mission 
from the United States landed af Uraga in 1853, Manjiro 
served as interpreter. No more suitable person could have 
been found in all Japan. Manjiro knew the American 
spirit and desires. Any blunder on his part might have 
resulted in an international disaster. As it was, the Perry 
mission was a great success. In spite of the powerful con- 
servatism of Japan's ruling classes at that time, the country 
was opened to world-wide commerce. The kindness shown 
by Captain Whitfield, by the good people of Fairhaven and 
New Bedford toward a lone young Japanese boy was truly 
fruitful." 

As the spirit of western progress gradually per- 
meated .Japan, IManjiro Nakahama naturally became a 
leader in its developnu^nt, and his ability and experi- 
ence nuide him a man whose advice was constantly 



PRESENTATION OF SAMURAI SWORD. ^^ 

8oni>lit. He became connected with an institute for the 
study of modern steamship construction and later en- 
gaged in the promotion of the whaling industr}^ in 
Japan. He continued to teach English and navigation 
and was an officer on the first Japanese steamer to 
cross the Pacific to California. It was during this voy- 
age that he had his first opportunity to communicate 
Avith Captain Whitfield. 

In 1870 he was one of a commission sent to Europe 
hy the Japanese government to study military science 
during the Franco-Prussian war. At this time Naka- 
Iiama came to this country and was formally received 
at Washington. He made use of the opportunity of- 
fered to revisit Fairhaven and spent one night with 
Captain Whitfield. 

In his later days Nakahama was appointed a pro- 
fessor in the University of Tokio. He married in Japan 
and had several children, the eldest of whom is Dr. 
Toichiro Nakahama, a prominent physician of Tokio 
and a distinguished personage in the empire. He is the 
donor of the sword which commemorates the rescue of 
his father and the kindness shown him during his 
residence in Fairhaven. Manjiro Nakahama died in 
1898 at the age of seventy-one. 

There is deep significance in the thought that the 
thread of sentiment connecting Manjiro Nakahama and 
Fairhaven has never been broken and that to the 
second generation, it remains strong and steadfast. In 
the phrase of one of the speakers of the day, '^We are 
liere because a brave American was kind and a loyal 
Japanese remembered. ' ' 




MAXJIRO XAKAHAMA. 



THE PRESENTATION OF 
THE SWORD. 

In the annals of* Fairhaven, the Fourth of July, 
11)18, will long ])e remembered as probably the most 
iini<|ne and eertainly one of tlie most important days in 
the history of tlie town. 

Al)ont the middle of June, word was conveyed to 
the seh^etmen of the town, Charles P. Maxfield, John I. 
Bryant and Thomas W. Whitfield, that Viscount Ishii, 
And)assador of Japan to the United States, desired to 
visit Fairhaven to make formal presentation of a 
l)eautiful Samurai sword which Dr. Toichiro Naka- 
hama of Tokio, Japan, had requested him to present to 
the town in commemoration of the rescue of his father, 
Manjiro Nakahama, by Captain William H. Whitfield, 
who was born and made his home in Fairhaven. It 
was an odd coincidence that one of the three selectmen 
should have been a grandson of Captain Whitfield. 

An invitation to Viscount Ishii to visit Fairhaven 
on July 4th was immediately sent and a committee of 
citizens appointed to arrange for a celebration Avhich 
should be commensurate with the honor conferred upon 
Fairhaven by the bestowal of such a priceless gift 
through the medium of Japan's supreme official repre- 
sentative in this country. 

The enthusiastic Avelcome accorded Viscount Ishii 
attested Fairhaven 's appreciation of the honor of his 
presence on such an errand. By the provision of a per- 
fect summer day, Nature seemingly approved the deci- 



^^ PRESENTATION OF SA]MURAI SWORD. 

sioii to hold the exercises out of doors in the High 
School Stadium, and never was stage setting more ap- 
propriate to day and event. The whole town, in fact, 
Avas in gala attire. American and Japanese tlags and 
bunting were to be seen on every hand. The town hall, 
the library, the churches, as well as the stores and 
blocks in the business section were liberally adorned 
with bunting, and for the whole length of Washington 
Street from the Mattapoisett line and continuing across 
the Fairhaven-Xew Bedford bridge, banners were dis- 
played from wires stretched across the street at 
intervals. At the Rogers' ^Memorial ^Monument at the 
end of the bridge, Japanese and American flags were 
placed at each corner of the shaft. ]\lany liomes dis- 
played flags of both nations. 

Soon after nine o'clock Viscount Ishii and his ]iarty 
arrived from ^lattapoisett, where they were the house 
guests of Hon. Charles S. Hamlin, and were met at the 
Fairhaven end of the bridge by Lieutenant Governor 
Coolidge, members of the Governor's staff, representa- 
tives of the New Bedford city government, and military 
and naval escort. They then proceeded to the New 
Bedford High School, where exercises Avere held, 
addresses 1)eing given by ^layor Ashley, Lieutenant 
Governor Coolidge, Viscount Ishii and ^Ir. Hamlin. 

Lnmediately folloAving the exercises in Ncav Bed- 
ford, tlu^ Ambassador and his party Avere met l)y a com- 
mittee from Fairhaven and i:)roceeded to Riverside 
Cemetery accompanieci by members of the AVhitfield 
family. Here a simple but im|)ressive ceremony took 
])lace, Avhen the And)assadoi' i)laced a Avreath upon the 
grave of Captain AVhitfield. Returning from the 
cemetery, Viscount Ishii called at the home of Airs. 
Eben Akin, on Oxford street, the house Avhere Manjiro 



PRESENTATIOX OF SAMCRAI SWORD. ^fj 

Nakahama spent his first two weeks in Fairhaven over 
seventy-five years ago. 

The party next proceeded to the Tabitha Inn, 
where a bnffet Inncheon was served the guests and mem- 
bers of the committee. After the luncheon, the Ambas- 
sador and party visited the Memorial Church, The 
Millicent Library and the town hall, where the log book 
of the whaleship "John Rowland" and other memen- 
toes of Nakahama and Captain Whitfield were shown 
the guests. 

While the Ambassador and his party were in the 
town hall, the parade, consisting of a battalion of regu- 
lars from Fort Rodman, Naval Reserves from the Fair- 
haven barracks, the Fairhaven State Guard and the 
Naval Reserve Band from Newport, was formed on Cen- 
ter street, and as the Ambassador came down the steps 
the national salute was given. The parade then pro- 
ceeded through William, Union and Green streets to 
Cushman Park, through the park and Park Avenue to 
Huttleston Avenue and into the stadium by the west 
entrance. After the speakers and guests had proceeded 
to the platform, the men in uniform marched into the 
Stadium and formed in assembly in front of the stand, 
a most impressive sight, and a credit to Lieutenant 
Loring Washburn of the Fairhaven Naval Reserve 
Station, who was in eha rge of the parade. 

With the speakers on the platform, as guests of 
honor, were the Ambassador's party consisting of Vis- 
countess Ishii, Lieutenant Colonel Tani Kawa, the Am- 
bassador's aide; Lieutenant J. P. Hartt, representing 
the naval commandant at Newport ; ^Irs. Charles S. 
Hamlin and ]\Iiss Anna Hamlin, members of the Gov- 
ernor's staff. ]Mayor Charles S. Ashley and other rep- 
resentatives of the New Bedford city government, the 



18 



PRESENTATION OF SAMURAI SWORD. 



Selectmen of Fairhaven, Mr. and Mrs. ^Mareellus P. 
Whitfield and other relatives of Captain AYhitfield, 
sneh of the sehoolniates of ^lanjiro Nakahama as are 
still living, and many distinguished guests from out of 
town. 

Directly behind the speaker's stand, the center of 
the grandstand, occupied by the chorus of school chil- 
dren dressed in white, formed a pleasing background to 
the picture. It is estimated that over ten thousand 
jH^ople Avitnessed the ceremonies. The exercises began 
promptly at 2 :oO P. ]\1. with the program as printed 
on the next })age. 




Fourth of July, Nineteen Hundred and Eighteen 

Presentation of Samurai Sword 
To the Town of Fairhaven 



America 

Charles P. Maxfield, Chairman of the Board of Selectmen 

Welcome on behalf of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts 
His Honor, Lieutenant-Governor Calvin Coolid^e 

Japanese Anthem 
Newport Naval Reserve Band 

Presentation of the Samurai Sword ^iven by Dr. Nakahama of Japan 
His Excellency, Viscount Ishii, Ambassador of Japan 

Acceptance of the Sword 
By Thomas W. Whitfield, grandson of Capt. William H. WWtfield 

Acceptance on behalf of the Town of Fairhaven 
Rev. George Hale Reed 

Souza's "Stars and Stripes Forever" 

Address 
Honorable Charles S. Hamlin 

Keller's "American Hymn" 

Presentation of American Fla^ fron School Children of Fairhaven 

to the People of Japan 

Master Willard Delano Whitfield and Wellington Bingham 

Star Spangled Banner 



OPENING REMARKS. 

CHARLES P. MAXFIELD, 
Chairman, Board of Selectmen, Fairhaven. 

Distinguished Guests and Fellow Citizens: 

We have assembled this afternoon on America's 
greatest legal holiday to witness one of the most im- 
portant ceremonies with which our Town has been 
favored. 

We have met here in accordance with the request 
of Viscount Ishii, the Japanese Ambassador to the 
United States, made to your Selectmen. He acts in 
belialf of Dr. Nakahama of Japan, son of Manjiro 
Nakahama, who was rescued with otliers by Captain 
AVilliam H. Whitfield from. an island in the China sea 
and afterwards educated in our public schools before 
returning to his native country. In commemoration of 
that event he has come to present to our town a beau- 
tiful Samurai Sword, centuries old and of priceless 
value, as an emblem of gratitude and good Avill toward 
tlie ]>eople of the Ignited States. 



WELCOME ON BEHALF OF THE COMMON- 
WEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS. 

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR CALVIN COOLIDGE, 
Acting Governor. 

We have met on this anniversary of American in- 
dependence to assess the dimensions of a kind deed. 
Nearly four score years ago the master of a whaling 
vessel sailing from this port rescued from a barren 
rock in the China sea some Japanese fishermen. Among 
them was a young boy whom he brought home with 
him to Fairhaven, where he was given advantages of 
New England life and sent to school with the boys and 
girls of the neighborhood, where he excelled in his 
studies. But as he grew up he was filled with a long- 
ing to see Japan and his aged mother. He knew^ that 
the duty of filial piety lay upon him according to the 
teachings of his race, and he was determined to meet 
that obligation. I think that is one of the lessons of 
this day. Here was a youth Avho determined to pur- 
sue the course which he had been taught was right. He 
braved the dangers of the voyage and the greater dan- 
gers that awaited an absentee from his country under 
the then existing laws, to perform his duty to his 
mother and to his native land. In making that return 
I think we are entitled to say that he was the first am- 
bassador of America to the court of Japan, for his ex- 
traordinary experience soon brought him into associa- 
tion with the highest officials of his country, and his 
presence there prepared the Avay for the friendly re- 
ception which was given to Commodore Perry when he 



22 PRESENTATION OF SAMURAI SWORD. 

was sent to Japan to open relations l)etween that gov- 
ernnient and the government of Anieriea. 

And so we see how out of the kind deed of Captain 
Whitfield, friendly relations which have existed for 
niany years between the people of Japan and the 
people of Anieriea were encouraged and made possil)le. 
And it is in recognition of that event that we have here 
today this great concourse of people, this martial array, 
and the representative of the Japanese people — a 
people who have never failed to res23ond to an act of 
kindness. 

It was with special pleasure that I came here rep- 
resenting the Commonwealth of ^Massachusetts, to ex- 
tend an official welcome to His Excellency Viscount 
Ishii, who comes here to present to the town of Fair- 
haven a Samurai sword on behalf of the son of that boy 
who was rescued long ago. This sword was once the 
emblem of place and caste and arbitrary rank. It has 
taken on a ncAV significance because Captain Whitfield 
was true to the call of humanity, because a Japanese 
boy was true to his call of duty. This emblem will 
hereafter be a token not only of the friendship that 
exists between two nations but a token of lil)erty, of 
freedom, and of the recognition by the governments of 
botli these nations of the rights of the people. Let it 
remain here as a mutual pledge by the giver and the 
receiver of their determination that the motive which 
inspired the representatives of each race to do right is 
to be a motive which is to govern the people of the 
earth. 



PRESENTATION OF THE SA:\irRAT SAYORD. 

Given l)y Dr. Nakahama, of Japan. 

His Excellency VISCOUNT ISHII, Ambassador. 

Your Honor, ^Mr. Chairman, Members of the Board of 
Selectmen, Ladies and Gentlemen : 

The occasion ^vhich In-ings me to your beautiful 
town today is somewhat out of the line of those offi- 
cial duties which are supposed to eng-age the atten- 
tion of diplomatic officers. In reality, the pleasant 
task which has been assigned to me should have been 
given to some clear-eyed poet, some chivalric lover of 
humanity — whose soul was not only attuned to beau- 
tiful things, but whose art was equal to the task of 
giving tliera adequate expression. 

I lay no claim to these high qualifications, but I 
come to you rejoicing in the opportunity given me of 
bearing my part — however humble — in the payment 
of a sacred debt. 

The Great Book which you love, and whose pre- 
cepts underlie all that is best in your civilization, says 
— "Cast thy bread upon the waters; for thou shalt find 
it after many days." Ecclesiastes, XI: 1. 

Upon that beautiful promise, which I interpret 
to mean that good things never die — that noble actions 
sooner or later come back in harvests of blessedness 
— is founded the truest incentive which men have for 
right living and right acting. 

jMy presence here today is the result of a gener- 
ous deed on the part of one of your own townsmen. 
It was performed many years ago, without osteuta- 




DR. T. NAKAHAMA, 
Donor of the Sword. 



PRESENTATION OF SAMURAI SWORD. 



25 



tion or hope of reward, but is proof today of his living 
faith in the precept which I have quoted. 

Let me tell you the simple story. 

About the n.iiddle of the last century, before 
Commodore Perry's historic visit opened Japan to 
communication with the outer world, a number of 
shipwrecked Japanese sailors were rescued near the 
Rock Islands in the China Sea, ))y Captain William 
H. Whitfield who commanded an American whaling 
vessel in those waters, and who was a native of this 
good old town of Fairhaven. 

The kind-hearted Captain not only took good 
care of these castaways, but found himself especially 
drawn to a bright boy among them named Nakahama. 
This attachment eventually grew into a relationship 
which was almost like that of father and son. Young 
Nakahama was sent to the public schools in Fair- 
haven and was given every opportunitv to acquire 
western learning and a knowledge of the outside 
world which later stood him in good stead in the 
country of his birth. He finally went back to Japan 
where he was well received by the Government, 
appointed instructor of English language in a Gov- 
ernment school, ordered to serve as assistant interpre- 
ter in the Commodore Perry negotiations, and after- 
wards appointed Professor of the University, Yedo. 
To the day of his death, Nakahama remembered with 
gratitude the name and the kindness of the American 
Captain to whom he owed so much. 

Now see how contagious kindness may sometimes 
become. 

Nakahama, the wrecked sailor boy, left a son 
who has since risen to eminence in the medical world 



2Q PRESENTATION OF SAIMURAI SWORD. 

of JapaiJ, and to whom was bec^iieathed his father's 
sense of gratitude. This son. Dr. Nakahama, knew 
the story of his father's early adventures and carried 
in his heart through all the years a sleepless sense of 
gratitude. In evidence of this feeling, not only for 
the memory of Captain Whitfield but for the people 
of America as Avell, it finally occurred to him that it 
would he a graceful thing for him to present to the 
lovrn of Fairhaven — the birth-place of his father's 
friend — some slight token of a gratitude Avhich had 
survived the wear and tear of seventy years. So 
feeling, he has sent to me this sword with the recpiest 
that I present it in his name to the town of Fairhaven 
in grateful remembrance of the generous act of Cap- 
tain AVhitfield and as evidence to the people of your 
town and the American people that the Japanese 
heart is responsive to kindness — and does not forget. 
T can not tell you, ladies and gentlemen, with 
what pleasure I respond to these sentinumts of Dr. 
Xakahama and how much satisfaction I find in the 
])erformance of this simple duty. This gift may have 
little intrinsic value, but therein, perhaps, yon will 
find its real value to consist. You are asked to re- 
ceive it as the concrete token of that something wliich 
is without price and above all other values. It is 
tendered to you at a time in the affairs of a troubled 
world when men are asking if the old time virtues of 
gratitude and hT)nor still hold their places in the 
human heart. It comes at a time Avhen America and 
.Tai)an stand liidved and resolute in defense of a cause 
wliicli is so holy — so just and right — that all other 
considerations vanish to nothingness. There is a 
wi(h'r siunificance to this grateful act of Dr. Naka- 



PRESENTATION OF SAMURAI SWORD. 



27 



liania than the simple recognition of a personal kind- 
ness. It is typical of that rising wave of sympathy 
and good understanding which begins to roll across 
the Pacific Ocean and promises to flood both lands 
with the sweet waters of fraternity and good will. 

If you will accept, in this wider sense, this token 
of Dr. Nakahania's gratitude, you will give it a signifi- 
cance in which every right-thinking and right-feeling 
man and woman, on ])otli sides of the ocean, will find un- 
alloyed satisfaction. 

"But why," .some one may ask, "is a sword pre- 
sented to this peace-loving town in recognition of an 
act of mercy? Does the sword not typify that which 
we most abhor?" 

There is a sense, my friends, in which the sword is 
tj^pical of cruelty and wrong. There is another sense 
in which it stands for the loftiest conceptions of 
chivalrie honor and virtue. To the old Samurai of 
Japan, whose spirit is reflected in the act of Dr. Naka- 
hama, the sword Avas the symbol of spotless honor. His 
right to wear it signified his worthiness to use it aright. 
What he carried at his belt was a symbol of what he 
carried in his mind and heart — honor, loyalty, courage, 
self-control. No unworthy man might carry this sacred 
token of responsibility. To possess it was to be recog- 
nized as worthy to use it aright ; to use it amiss con- 
stituted the brand of deepest dishonor. 

Dr. Nakahama, in offering you this token of his 
gratitude, has signified to you his perfect trust. He has 
endeavored to say to you that you are the worthy deposi- 
tories of all chivalrie honor. In no better way could a 
loyal Japanese as effectually tell you of his loving confi- 
dence and deep esteem. 



28 



FRESEXTATION OF SAIMURAI SWORD. 



Ill this spirit I beg of you, Mr. Chairman, to 
accept for the Town of Fairhaven this tribute of grati- 
tude. The donor would have you preserve it, not only 
as a monument to the memory of a good man, but as 
a token of Japanese good will. Dr. Nakahama would 
say to the descendants of those who were kind to his 
revered father that Avhich the whole Japanese people 
would say to the people of America: — We trust you — 
we love you, and, if you will let us, we will walk at 
your side in loyal good fellowship down all the coming 
years. 

I thank you. 



ACCEPTANCE OF THE SWORD. 

THOMAS W. WHITFIELD, 
Grandson of Capt. William H. Whitfield. 

Viscount Isliii, I thank yon. 

This celebration today is a cause of justifiable pride 
to Fairhaven, for the gift of this sword has brought 
here one of the most distinguished of the world's men, 
Viscount Ishii. 

Little did my grandfather dream when he rescued 
and educated the little Japanese lad, Manjiro Naka- 
hama, that he was making history, and that one day 
one of his descendants Avould, in his memory, be ac- 
cepting such a precious memento from Japan. 

Dr. Nakahama surely shows that fine filial devo- 
tion, for which the Japanese are noted above all other 
nations in the world, and I know that the town of Fair- 
haven feels justly proud of the kind act of one of its 
citizens — with which it has now become identified. 

We realize that this sword is a symbol of all that 
Japan honors most, in nobility of blood and ideals, and 
as such it will be held in reverence by the people of 
Fairhaven in the years to come. 

It is especially notable that his gracious act of 
courtesy and appreciation should be shown on this day, 
empliasizing as it does the historic friendly relations 
between the peoples and the governments of Japan 
and the United States. 

In thus honoring Fairhaven, Japan does honor to 
the whole great American nation, and both nations will 
extol this rite as a testimony of the faith and good will 



g0 PRESENTATION OF SAMURAI SWORD. 

between the two most intelligent and most progressive 
peoples of the earth. 

Viscount Ishii, will you personally convey to Dr. 
Nakaliama the thanks and good wishes of all the towns- 
people of Fairhaven and assure him that we will always 
prize this sword as our most treasured possession. 
Again, I thank you. 



ACCEPTANCE ON BEHALF OF THE TOWN OF 
FAIEHAVEN. 

REV. GEORGE HALE REED. 

Your Excellency : — 

I have been given the privilege of welcoming you to 
Fairhaven but I need speak no words of welcome. That 
welcome is uttered for me in our streets and towers 
gleaming with the colors of your country and ours, in 
the happy faces of the crowds, all eager to see you and 
to clasp your hand. They have said already that we 
rejoice in your coming, and in the coming of the dis- 
tinguished representatives of our state and our nation. 
They have said to you already that you are giving to 
our town its proudest and happiest day. 

You are giving us the great honor of your presence 
today to bring to us a message and a gift from a son 
of your country. You are here because a brave Ameri- 
can was kind and a loyal Japanese remembered. You, 
the representative of a mighty Eastern nation, have 
come to us, because many years ago, on that rock in 
the China sea, Captain Whitfield saved the life of 
Nakahama who was to be a strong servant of your 
nation, because Fairhaven gave the lonely Japanese 
boy, brought into a strange land, all it had of light 
and affection, and because Nakahama and his son, Dr. 
Nakahama, have never forgotten. 

This is the background of all this l)rilliant scene 
today, the waste of a desolate sea, a barren rock, a 
Japanese boy with a face pinched by hunger and clothes 
in tatters tlirough long days of exposure, a New Eng- 



S2 



PRESENTATION OF SAINIURAI SWORD. 



land captain stretching out his hand and saying, ' ' Come 
home with me." One may ask why the waves that 
went forth from this strange scene on that bleak rock 
have risen to this high tide of national and international 
life. 

Surely the wonder of this simple scene of the long- 
ago is this: That the life of the Japanese boy and the 
American captain flowed together so easily, that coming 
from the opposite ends of the earth, speaking different 
languages, professing different religions, they were one 
in so many of the deepest things. That is what im- 
presses us about the life of Nakahama in Fairhaven. 
The Japanese boy fitted so swiftly and naturally into 
the American life; the life so quickly and easily into 
him. 

That is the inspiration of that meeting of the Japa- 
nese boy and the American captain in the Pacific ocean. 
That day and the years that followed showed that they 
w^ere one in so many ways. 

First they were one in being fishermen; the Ameri- 
can captain had gone forth to fish, and so, also, the 
Japanese boy who had been blown out of his home waters 
to shipwreck. There Avas the fellowship of commercial 
interest. The ways of these men converged through 
the common calling in a place too broad for unfriendly 
competition, too deep for ungenerous rivalry. Japanese 
and American w^ent down to the sea in ships. So New 
England touched Japan. They met in the deep places 
and touched each other. 

Then, these two men from different countries 
whose lives touched way out there in the deep, found 
that they were one in what we may call their social 
aims. The American fisherman could not understand 
tlie language of the Japanese but he did understand his 



PRESENTATION OF SAIMURAI SWORD. gg 

deepest needs. ''I could not understand their lan- 
guage," wrote Captain Whitfield of the five men he 
found on the rocks, in the famous log book which we 
have looked at todaj^ "but they made signs that they 
were hungry and I understood that." The deepest 
Deeds of this man from a strange land Capt. Whitfield 
could comprehend and could satisfy; for in these ele- 
mental human needs the men were one. The Japanese 
boy was hungry, not only for food, but human compan- 
ionship, for intellectual life, for frir-ndship, for affec- 
tion. And how naturally and quickly he found all of 
these in our own warm hearted American town, in 
the Whitfield home, in the friendliness of Fairhaven 
people. He went to our New England schools lie 
quickly rose to the head of his class. He was swiftly 
one with the life of the strange homeland and ^oinid 
it satisfying the hunger of his heart and mind. 

Then, once more, these fishermen who stood to- 
gether in the deep places, found in a wonderful way 
that they were one in the spiritual life. The Japanese 
boy, the boy of strange religion, came to church with 
Captain Whitfield, in the Christian church which I now 
serve, and he found there fellowship and peace — 
peace in looking up to the Maker of his life, and fel- 
lowship with warm-hearted men and women. Just as 
he felt himself one with Captain Whitfield in the deep 
places of the sea, he, the foreign boy, was one with the 
Christian in the deep places of religion. When he 
talked of the priceless possessions of his heart it was 
a language his American brothers understood. He 
told of his gratitude for American kindness, his love 
of his mother, his desire to go back to his own beloved 
country, and on these rocks of refuge in the deep 



34 



TRESENTATION OF SAMURAI SWORD. 



places of tlie soul's life, the love of friends, of mother, 
of country, he and his American fellows stood to- 
gether. 

The wonder of that moment in the China Sea 
was this: That these two men of ditit'erent races and 
religions found that in the elemental things, commer- 
cial, social, spiritual, they stood side by side, shoulder 
to shoulder, heart to heart. 

And surely, Your Excellency, the reason why 
that moment of the long ago has "brought this happy 
moment of today, is liecause on that day each man 
represented his nation. Each stood for the promise 
that in the coming years Japan and America would 
stand together in the deep places. That, we feel, is 
the larger meaning of your coming here. That is the 
larger meaning of Dr. Nakahama's precious gift — the 
consciousness that our countries stand together in so 
many of the fundamental things. That thrills us as 
Ave thank you for the honor of your visit — the 
thought that Japan, that strange, far, fascinating 
country, that wonderland, the skill of whose handi- 
Avork, the glory of Avhose art, the l^raverj^ of whose 
patriotism, the mystery of Avhose religion, cast over 
all Americans Avho Ansit it, Avhat one of our oavu coun- 
try has called in her book, "the spell of Japan," — may 
be one Avith us in a commerce on a sea too broad for 
rivalry, in a human need too deep for division, in a 
spiritual experience too close to God for barriers of 
creed or sect. 

One of Nakahama's contri])utions from America to 
your country Avas a translation of BoAvditch's ''Naviga- 
tor." Surely that suggests the great contribution 
made hy his useful life to the country of his birth and 
tlie counlry of his adoption. TTe shoAved that, though 



PRESENTATION OF SAMURAI SWORD. 



^5 



Jai)anese and American fishermen spoke different 
languages, they sailed by the same immutable laws, by 
tlie same Avinds, with the same deep under them, and 
the same stars shining above-. 

It suggests, indeed, at this moment of international 
signiheanee, the hope that the ships of state of Japan 
and America Avill more and more sail by the same deep 
laws, hy the same landmarks and heaven marks, 
more and more to the same shining havens. It brings 
to us the thrill of fellowship between our two great 
nations, at this time when friendliness between Nations 
is the gleam of rainbow in the clouds. 

Then linally, Your Excellency. I believe there is 
even a loftier promise in that scene of the fishermen 
standing together in the deep places, and in the happy 
meeting of the nations liere today. It has a more than 
national meaning ; it has a human prophecy, for it says 
that wherever two men of dift'erent nations are strong 
enough to stand together in the deep places, they shall 
find that they are resting upon one rock, looking up to 
the same stars. They shall know that 

'*p]ast is East and West is West and never the twain 

shall meet. 
Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God's great 

Judgment Seat. 
But there is neither East nor AVest, Border nor Breed 

nor Birth, 
AVhen two strong men stand face to face though they 

come from the ends of the earth." 



ADDRESS. 

HONORABLE CHARLES S. HAMLIN. 

The occasion which ])riiigs us together here today 
is indeed a meniora])le one. The bells are ringing and 
the guns are l)ooniing throughout the country. The 
people are celebrating tlie most memorable anniversary 
of our history. The Declaration of Independence is 
])eing read in every town and hamlet, and our people 
are tilled with the grim determination that just as we 
achieved our independence in early days, so now we 
shall, with our brave army and navy, under the inspir- 
ing leadership of our Commander-in-Chief, the Presi- 
dent of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, and in 
conjunction with our Allies, achieve the independence 
of the world from the tlireatened rule of an overbearing 
military oligarchy, and assure its permanent peace and 
security. 

The day is also significant to tlie peo|)le of Fair- 
haven for another reason — the presence with us of A^is- 
count Ishii, the ambassador of Japan, as our guest. 
His presence here will mark it as one of the most mem- 
orable in the history of the town. In tliis connection, I 
wisli to tell you some unpublished history, which will 
keenly interest you. After our guest, tlie Ambassador, 
had accepted the Fourth of July as the date fixed upon 
for this ceremony, the President of the United States 
invited the entire diplomatic corps to attend the exer- 
cises at ^Fount Vernon on the same day, and, at this 
very moment, the President is delivering there an ad- 
dress, which will be listened to with rapt attention by 
the representatives of the great allied nations engaged 



PRESENTATION OF SAMURAI SWORD. 



37 



in the task of perpetuating freedom throughout the 
world. The invitation extended to the diplomatic 
corps to be present on such an occasion could not be 
regarded otherwise than as a command, and, at first, 
I feared that our guest would have to forego, for the 
time being, the pleasure of being with us.. I learned, 
however, that the President had written to the Ambas- 
sador that, while he should regret his absence from 
Mount Vernon, he sincerely hoped he would feel free 
to carry out his original plan to come to us today. I 
feel sure that every citizen of this town will appreciate 
this thoughtful act of the President, and I shall feel 
authorized to express to him, in your names, your 
grateful thanks wiien I return to Washington. 

Aliout seventy-five years ago, Captain Whitfield 
of Fairhaven, commander of a whaling vessel, while sail- 
ing in the China Sea, found some j^oung Japanese boys 
stranded on a desert island. For months they had been 
subsisting on sea birds and water taken from the clefts 
of the rocks, and starvation was fast approaching. Cap- 
tain Whitfield rescued them and landed all but one 
of the boys at the Sandwich Islands. For that one h^ 
conceived a strong affection. He brouglit him home to 
Fairhaven, cared for him in his own family, and had 
]iim educated in the public schools. This was the 
young boy Nakahama, in whose memory we have assem- 
bled together today. For some years he dwelt with us. 
He studied in our public schools. He learned our ways 
and our form of government, and he studied the char 
acter of the American people. Finally returning to 
Japan, he spent the rest of his life there, respected and 
revered, dying only a few years ago. 

Today his son, Dr. Xakahama, an eminent physi- 
cian of Japan, sends us this beautiful gift as a memorial 



'SH 



PRESENTATION OF SAMURAI SWORD. 



of the saving of the life of his father by Captain Whit- 
field, and we come together to accept this gift witJi 
grateful appreciation of the kindly spirit of the donor. 

We shall place it in the Public Library, where it 
will stand forever as a reminder of the old days ^jid 
old scenes now sunk beneath the horizon but which will 
remain forever green in our memory. 

We send ])ack today our most grateful thanks to 
the donor, Dr. Nakahama, with our earnest hope that 
in the not far future he may come to Fairhaven and 
vieAv the scenes of his father's early life; that he may 
visit our pu])lic schools in which his father was edu- 
cated, and that he may meet the few now living who 
rememl)er his father in those good old days when they 
studied and wandered together over this beautiful 
town. 

There comes to my mind, however, a feeling of 
sadness Avhen I realize that Captain Whitfield cannot 
be here with us. He sleeps peacefully in his grave, but 
I feel that in spirit he is among us today. The scene 
tliis morning, when the Ambassador placed the wreath 
upon his grave, was one which I can never forget. 
There instinctively came to my mind the beautiful 
words of Thomas Gray in his ''Elegy on a Country 
Churchyard : ' ' 

"Perhaps in this neglected spot is laid 
Some heart once pregnant with celestial fire : 
Hands, that the rod of empire might have swayed. 
Or waked to ecstacy the living lyre." 

Of such mold was Captain Whitfield, a man of 
strong character, accustomed to command, resolute in 
action, well worthy to sway the rod of empire in higher 
splieres of life. In liefriending Nakahama he uncon- 
sciouslv Avas l)iiihlino' the foundation for a future last- 



PRESENTATION OF SAMURAI SWORD. 



89 



ing friendship between the United States and Japan. 
His life was a busy one, full of hardships and adven- 
ture. He represented an age that is past, but it is to 
men of his sturdy character that we owe our country 
as it is today. The whaling captain of seventy-five 
years ago represented our best stock. At that time 
the whaling industry was one of our most valuable 
industries; New Bedford, together with Fairhaven and 
Mattapoisett, was the greatest whaling port in the 
world. Today that great industry has almost disap- 
peared, l)ut even now, occasionally we run down to 
the docks to greet some returning whaler, a symbol 
of the good old days now gone forever. The char- 
acter of these sturdy whaling captains has left its 
impress upon us, and we look back upon their adven- 
turous careers with delight and enthusiasm. 

It is indeed fortunate, however, that we have 
with us today the son and the grandchildren of Cap- 
tain AVhitfield; a grandson today is one of the select- 
men of this town. Through them, therefore, we can 
truly feel in touch with Captain Whitfield, whose 
memory, as well as that of Nakahama, we reverence 
today. 

The presence here of Viscount Ishii, the Ambas- 
sador of Japan, one of the world's great powers, to 
carry out the spirit of filial devotion of the son to the 
father, marks the day, as I have said, as one of the 
most eventful in the history of this town. It is also 
filled with significance not only to us, but, as well, to 
the people of our commonwealth, so fittingly repre- 
sented by His Honor Lieutenant Governor Coolidge, 
and to the people of the entire country. 

It has been my good fortune to meet the am- 
bassadors who have represented Japan in this country 



4.. PRESENTATION OF SA:MURAI SWORD. 

lor the past twenty-iive years, and in some eases I have 
known them intimately. Tliey have been men of the 
highest character and standing and have most ably 
represented their country. Without invidious distinc- 
tion, however, permit me to express the opinion that 
there has never been during that time, an ambassador 
from that great country who has in such a short time 
so endeared himself to our people, as has Viscount 
Ishii. His charming personality, his courtesy and his 
pre-eminent ability have captivated our hearts, and 
we fully appreciate the great honor he has conferred 
upon the people of this town by his presence here 
today. 

We recognize, as Avell, the spirit of friendship 
and good will toward our nation on the part of the 
great country which the ambassador so worthily rep- 
resents, which is manifested l)y his presence here : 
and we send our most sincere greetings, through him, 
to his sovereign, the emperor, and to the people of his 
great country. 

We welcome him not alone as the bearer of this 
nni(|ue gift, but, as well, as the representative of one 
of our great Allies who, with the United States, have 
set out to place the freedom and peace of the world 
u])on a secure and lasting foundation; our joint efforts 
will never cease until that lasting good has been ac- 
complished. 

AVhen the history of this terrible war is written, 
the services to the cause of peace and freedom rendered 
by Japan, our great ally, will occupy a most con- 
spicuous place. It suffices for my purpose to point out 
til at at the outbreak of the European war, Japan car- 
ried out the terms of her treaty Avith Great Britain 
by declaring war on Gernmny. The world, however, 



PRESENTATION OF SAMURAI SWORD. 



41 



knew before this that a treaty entered into on the part 
of Japan is a sacred obligation and not "a scrap of 
paper." She forbade her people to trade with the 
enemy, thus destroying a very large trade with Ger- 
many, to the substantial injury of many of her own 
people ; she drove Germany out of China by the capture 
of Tingstao, and the effect of this action as regards the 
trade of the world is of almost illimitable importance. 
She took all the island possessions of Germany in the 
Pacific Ocean ; she wiped out the last vestige of the 
German fleet on the Pacific ; she sent her warships to 
the ^lediterranean, where they have been valiantly 
co-operating with the Allied fleet. She sent vast quanti- 
ties of stores to Russia; she sent heavy guns to Russia, 
and — if rumor be true — they were accompanied by 
expert gunners. She loaned large sums of money to 
Russia and she placed her mints at the disposal of tlie 
Russian government for coinage purposes. She has 
loaned the Allies hundreds of millions of dollars; she 
has sent them enormous quantities of supplies ; she 
lias sent to them the bulk of her copper products — 
second only to those of the United States — in one 
form or another. Her Red Cross is sending to them 
stretchers, bandages, absorbent cotton, and many 
other similar supplies. She has sent medical units to 
England, France, Russia, Roumania and other places. 
She has combatted German propaganda in China and 
in India, not to speak of the insidious plots hatched 
in her own country. At the present time over one 
thousand Japanese laborers, naturalized in Canada, 
are fighting with the Canadians in France. She sent 
a commission to Washington last year, headed by our 
distino'iiished auest, Viscount Ishii, to discuss methods 



42 



PRESENTATION OF SAIVIURAI SWORD. 



of eo-operation with tlie rnited States in the wai*. 
She sent us also last year, a finance commission 
headed by Baron ]\Iegata, a graduate of the Harvard 
Law school, to study financial questions arising out 
of the war. As a partial result of the work of this 
finance .commission, the Bank of Japan now acts as 
correspondent and foreign agent of the federal re- 
serve system of the United States. In short, Japan 
has co-operated with the United States, both as to 
war, trade and finance, in an invaluable manner. 

All these achievements represent the voluntary 
contribution of this great nation toward the peace of 
the world. It represents a welding together of the 
civilization of the east with that of the west in a 
common purpose, and nothing can swerve us from that 
purpose until a complete, decisive victory has been 
achieved. 

1 wish I had time to dwell in some detail upon 
the . history of Japan. I have personally experienced 
the charm of its civilization and the hospitality of its 
people. Its present dynasty goes back for 2500 years. 
It was a highly cultured, civilized nation at a time 
when European countries were but beginning to ex- 
perience the first glimmering rays of the dawn of 
civilization. 

The events we record today were the beginning 
of the friendship between our t.Avo countries, which 
has continued unbroken since the sojourn of Naka- 
hama in Fairhaven down to the present time, and 
wliich it is our earnest hope and belief will remain un- 
broken forever. 

Fairhaven today is a long distance from Japan. 
In the old days, however, it seemed even further re- 
moved. When Xakahama dwelt with us, foreigners 



PREiSENTATION OF SAMURAI SWORD. 



48 



were not permitted to land in Japan, nor were Jap- 
anese permitted to leave their country. Our whaling 
captains, however, frequently \^•ere found in Japanese 
waters, and brought back most interesting rumors of 
this wonderful country. At the time when Naka- 
hama returned to Japan, Commodore Perry had not 
yet visited that country to negotiate the treaty which 
meant so much to the United States and the other 
great countries representing western civilization. 
Tradition has it that Nakahama acted as one of the 
interpreters on the occasion of Perry's visit. WJiether 
this be true or not, we cannot but believe that his 
presence in Japan and his power of interpretation of 
the American character, must have assisted in mold- 
ing the minds of the Japanese in their final deter- 
mination to open up their country to western civili- 
zation. We should not forget that up to the year 
1685, Japan had practically unrestricted intercourse 
and a very large trade with the western nations. In 
that year, however — for reasons which I shall not un- 
dertake to enumerate — she determined it to be for her 
best interest, to expel all foreigners, and for a period 
of two hundred and fifty years all trade relations were 
suspended, except to a very limited extent with the 
Dutch at Nagasaki. 

It was, as I have said, two hundred and fifty years 
before this curtain which thus fell was again lifted. 
History has revealed the effect of this two hundred and 
fifty years of isolation upon Japan, and it will prove 
most fascinating reading. We ' find an aristocratic 
government, but, at the same time, a broad democracy. 
We find villages and communities like New England 
towns, with power to make their own local laws. The 
payment of taxes was regarded generally as a privilege. 



44 



PRESENTATION OF SAMURAI SWORD. 



Poverty was rather a mark of distinction. Agricul- 
ture was raised to the dignity of a profession. The 
land holdings were small but carefully and intensively 
cultivated. As a whole, the masses of the people were 
more prosperous than they were during the same period 
in Europe. 

If I were asked to express the soul of Japan, I 
should say that it lay in loyalty and patriotism. If 
we Avish to study the development of religion we turn 
to Judea; if we seek to trace out the sources of art 
we turn to Greece, but if we wish to find the sources 
of patriotism and of loyalty, we must turn to Japan. 

The duties imposed upon me today will always 
live as a keen delight in my memory. As I have said, 
I have tasted Japanese hospitality. I have studied 
its institutions at close range. I can testify from 
personal observation of the marvelous growth and de- 
velopment of the country. In 1897, I had the honor 
of being sent to Japan by President ]\IcKinley, as a 
commissioner of the United States to arrange for a 
treaty bet\\'een the two countries in connection Avith 
the fur seal fisheries. This gave me an opportunity 
for meeting the people and of studying their insti- 
tutions, which opportunity I gladly embraced, and 
it left me filled with admiration for the country and 
its people. 

There are other personal reasons for my interest. 
In 1832, Captain Edmund Roberts of Portsmouth, 
New Hampshire, great grandfather of ^Mrs. Hamlin, 
was sent by President Andrew Jackson to negotiate 
treaties with Japan and other eastern countries. His 
untimely death at Macao prevented him from realiz- 
ing his earnest hope of entering into a treaty with 
Japan. In 1862, or thereabouts, Robert Pruyn, of 



PRESENTATION OF SAMURAI SWORD. 45 

Albany, NeAV York, a cousin of Mrs. Hamlin, went 
to Japan as the first minister accredited to that coun- 
try, succeeding Townsend Harris, who had been 
consul-general. Thus you will realize, what a deep 
interest we have in that wonderful country and the 
pleasure it gives me to be permitted to take a part, 
if only a minor part, in these proceedings today. 

There only remains for me again to thank the 
ambassador for his presence here with us; to express 
our deepest appreciation of this unique gift, and, as 
well, our earnest hope and prayer that the present 
relations of trust, confidence and deep friendship be- 
tween our two countries will remain unbroken for- 
ever, and that our union with Japan and w^ith our 
other Allies may finally establish forever the peace 
and security of the world. This peace can best be 
achieved and maintained by the joint co-operation of 
the civilization of the east and of the west, and when 
achieved, secure in the freedom and peace which we 
have won for them, our children and our children's 
children — whether in Japan, Great Britain, France, 
Italy, Belgium, Serbia or the United States — will 
rise up and call our memories blessed. 



PRESENTATION OF AMERICAN FLAG, FROM 

THE SCHOOL CHILDREN OF FAIRHAVEN 

TO THE PEOPLE OF JAPAN. 

Masters Willard Delano Whitfield and Wellington Bingham. 
Address by Master Bingham. 

The children of tlie Avest greet the children of 
the far east. Through the ambassador of the imperial 
Japanese government, the children of the town of 
Fairhaven, this day so signally honored, extend the 
\A\^rm hand of international good-Avill to all the youth 
of that island gem beyond the seas. 

They express their appreciation of the filial affec- 
tion of that honored citizen Avho has made this occasion 
possil)le. They express their appreciation of that rare 
spirit of international comity, that has leaped ten 
thousand miles of sea and land and conveyed to the 
citizens of our toAvn the friendly feelings of a great 
people ; and they express a justifiable pride that these 
same schools three-quarters of a century ago were the 
pioneers in bringing together the new learning, the 
new civilization of the western world and the old 
civilization and the old learning of the lands where 
history first began. 

Then, to you. Viscount Ishii, as the personal 
representative of Doctor Nakahama, as the official 
representative of the imperial empire of Japan and 
as symbolizing all the people of your wondrous na- 
tion — a])ove all to you as the messenger from and to 
the children of your fair country, we present this 



PRESENTATION OF SAMURAI SWORD. 



47 



emblem of the United States of America. May it fly 
to the breezes of your homeland side by side with your 
fair banner and serve to weld more firmly the chain 
of traditional friendship that has for so long existed 
between these, our two nations, the Queen of the 
Occident and the Queen of the Orient. 



THE SWORD. 

The Sword, presented by Professor Dr. Toiehiro 
Nakaliama of Tokio to the town of Fairhaven, ]\rassa- 
chiisetts, in grateful commemoration of the happy 
event that his father's life was saved by Captain Wil- 
liam H. Whitfield, who was born in that town, — is of 
the kind known as Tachi, which was worn on the occa- 
sion of Court Ceremonies. The kind known as 
Katana, which was exclusivelj^ for use by the Samurai 
class, was worn with the edge of the blade upward. 
The Tachi, however, was worn on the left side with 
the edge of the blade downward. The flat string is 
for use when the sword is to be worn. It is first un- 
tied and put round the body about the loins to hold 
the sword in a horizontal position. 

The blade, when judged by its characteristic fea- 
tures, is of the pure Bizen school and belongs to the 
class of production of the period corresponding to 
the early part of the fourteenth century of the Christian 
era. The blade originally was much longer and was 
shortened to be adjusted to the stature of the owner 
about the middle of the fourteen century when a close 
battle formation of the foot soldiers armed with 
drawn swords came into vogue. Consecpiently, the 
part of the tang on which the maker's name must 
have l)een inscrilied had to be cut off. 



D, WALDRON ESTATE. PRINTERS 
FAIRHAVEN, MASSACHUSETTS. 



1 



m- 



ft>* 




411 



